Isolation Drills
Studio album by
Guided by Voices
ReleasedApril 10, 2001
Recorded2000
Length47:12
LabelTVT
ProducerRob Schnapf
Guided by Voices chronology
Do the Collapse
(1999) 		Isolation Drills
(2001) 		Universal Truths and Cycles
(2002)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Boston Phoenix[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
Pitchfork7.0/10[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
Spin7/10[7]

Isolation Drills is the 12th studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. It was their second and final LP released under TVT Records and their second to feature a major rock producer in Rob Schnapf. The album was also their first to chart on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 168.[8] The album notably features instrumental contributions from Elliott Smith and David Sulzer. Previous longtime band member Tobin Sprout also returned as a guest and contributed with playing piano. While Jim MacPherson plays drums on the album, his replacement Jon McCann is featured in the cover photos, as MacPherson had left the band immediately after the recording to focus on his home life.

Reception

Isolation Drills is currently the highest rating album on the aggregate review website Metacritic of their submitted studio albums.[9]

Accolades

"Glad Girls" was nominated for the High Times "Pot Song of the Year" award.[10] "Chasing Heather Crazy" was named the 319th best song of the decade by Pitchfork.[11] In 2014, the album was ranked number 92 on PopMatters' list of the Best Albums of the '00s.[12]

Appearance in popular culture

Track listing

All songs written by Robert Pollard.

  1. "Fair Touching" – 3:07
  2. "Skills Like This" – 2:47
  3. "Chasing Heather Crazy" – 2:53
  4. "Frostman" – 0:55
  5. "Twilight Campfighter" – 3:07
  6. "Sister I Need Wine" – 1:40
  7. "Want One?" – 1:48
  8. "The Enemy" – 4:53
  9. "Unspirited" – 2:25
  10. "Glad Girls" – 3:49
  11. "Run Wild" – 3:48
  12. "Pivotal Film" – 3:10
  13. "How's My Drinking?" – 2:38
  14. "The Brides Have Hit Glass" – 2:51
  15. "Fine to See You" – 3:16
  16. "Privately" – 4:05

Title

The opening of "The Enemy" is an excerpt of "Broadcastor House," a track from the 1994 Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer EP, which may come from the fact that "Broadcastor House" was the initial working title of the album.

Personnel

Guided by Voices

Additional musicians

Technical

References

  1. ^ "Reviews for Isolation Drills by Guided by Voices". Metacritic. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  2. ^ Deming, Mark. "Isolation Drills – Guided by Voices". AllMusic. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  3. ^ Ashare, Matt (April 26 – May 2, 2001). "Guided by Voices: Isolation Drills (TVT)". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  4. ^ Bronson, Kevin (April 29, 2001). "Guided By Voices, 'Isolation Drills,' TVT". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  5. ^ LeMay, Matt (March 31, 2001). "Guided By Voices: Isolation Drills". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  6. ^ Kot, Greg (March 5, 2001). "Isolation Drills : Guided By Voices". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 13, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  7. ^ LePage, Matt (June 2001). "Guided by Voices: Isolation Drills". Spin. 17 (6): 152–53. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  8. ^ "Artist Chart History - Guided by Voices". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  9. ^ "GUIDED BY VOICES' SCORES". Metacritic. 2017.
  10. ^ "Guided By Voices with the Bloodthirsty Lovers". IndyWeekly.com. 2002-04-10. Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
  11. ^ "Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
  12. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s: 100-81 | PopMatters". Archived from the original on 2014-10-08.
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